Greenwashing the Amazon: How €9 billion in “sustainable” funds are bankrolling deforestation

⭐ Join our community and access the best we offer!

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on VoxEU or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: An investigation reveals that nearly €9 billion in EU “green” and ESG-labelled funds are invested in 10 major food and agribusiness multinationals with high to critical exposure to deforestation risk
• Asset managers including Amundi, BlackRock, DWS and JP Morgan hold sustainability-branded stakes in companies linked to beef, soy and palm oil supply chains

🔭 The context: The funds fall under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), which prioritizes disclosure over strict environmental exclusions
• Companies cited include Mondelēz International, Grupo Bimbo and Brazilian meat giants such as JBS, Marfrig and Minerva
• Agriculture drives around 60% of tropical deforestation globally, with forest loss rising sharply in recent years

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Deforestation accounts for roughly 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions and weakens critical carbon sinks such as the Amazon
• Scientists warn that halting forest loss this decade could deliver up to 25% of required global emissions reductions
• Continued ESG capital flows into high-risk supply chains risk undermining climate and biodiversity goals

⏭️ What’s next: Regulatory revisions to EU sustainable finance rules may further reduce entity-level scrutiny
• Calls are growing for clearer deforestation exclusions and stronger biodiversity safeguards in ESG-labelled funds

💬 One quote: “Any fund that seeks to credibly claim to be ‘green’… must address exposure to deforestation.” — Pei Chi Wong, Global Canopy

📈 One stat: ESG funds have an average 5.8% exposure to issuers linked to deforestation, sometimes higher than non-ESG equivalents

See on illuminem's Data Hub™ the sustainability performance — carbon credit purchases, total emissions, and climate targets of thousands of companies

Click for more news covering the latest on greenwashing